Aug 4, 2012
"We've got to help each other," she said. And that's accompaniment, I thought.
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"We've got to help each other," she said. And that's accompaniment, I thought.
Everything But the Girl - "Five Fathoms" from Temperamental
It's almost 5am on a Friday morning and my upstairs neighbor must have fallen asleep with his phone on the floor. Someone keeps calling and the buzzing vibrates loudly into my room. They keep calling so it must be important. Since I've been unemployed I've listened to one of them try and make beats loudly for hours at a time in the afternoon and early evening. If they did anything close to as good as this song I'd be impressed, but instead I'm just annoyed by the bass thumping against the ceiling, over and over. I respect their ambition though.
Sometimes when I listen to this record I feel like I'm shopping at Express, then I catch the lyrics and they are so bleak and brooding and I can't help but find myself intrigued. Had I found it in my formative years it might have been a game changer. Instead, it suits that beautiful middle ground between engaging, captivating songwriting and perfect background music very few records can fill. I've been unemployed for a little over 2 months and I've been listening to this record late at night and notice how I keep slipping into the habits from my younger years. Hopefully I can turn this time into something productive instead of something to be ashamed of.
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Land of Talk - "Some Are Lakes" from Some Are Lakes
My friend Joel put me on to this record a few years back and I listened to it every day at work for a month after his initial recommendation. For some reason I never bought the record nor did it ever find its way onto my personal computer, but I still enjoy it and think singer Elizabeth Powell has an incredibly soulful and unique voice. Her lyrics are sad and beautiful especially on the title track, which is definitely the standout for me.
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Annihilation Time - "Thanks Anyway" from II
I refused to listen to AT for a long time because of an issue a friend of mine had with someone associated with the band. It was a moronic situation and I can't believe I let my interest in their music because of it. Very few bands play this style of rock n roll punk/hc as well as Annihilation Time. The singer has a great unaffected, self-destructive urgency in his vocals which sound awesome over their 80's west coast punk meets Thin Lizzy riffs. This song is such a ripper. Perfect for hanging out and drinking beer with your friends in the summertime. I wish I would have gone to their "secret" show in Pilsen a few years ago, but such is life.
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The Lemonheads - "It's About Time" from Come on feel The Lemonheads
I have written more about The Lemonheads than any other band on this blog at this point, but I don't care. They are easily in my top 10 and after seeing this video recently, I've been meaning to post this song. Evan Dando looks so incredibly stoned during this performance, but it's such a beautifully executed version of an already beautiful song his drug problem takes a backseat to his overwhelming talent. Come on... has a few spotty moments, but songs like "It's About Time," "Rest Assured," and the My So-Called Life party hit "Down About It" more than make up for any moments that drag.
Evan Dando is apparently playing the Taste of Chicago (Chicago's annual celebration of gluttony and debauchery) a week from today and I feel like I have to brave the heat and crowds now since The Lemonheads were so good when I saw them a few years ago. Can't wait.
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Young Adults - "Wasting Time" from Black Holes
I was all set to write about something different today when I came across this record on my work hard drive. I don't know where my head was at when this record dropped in the fall of last year, but I clearly dropped the ball on this Allston, MA 3-piece. This song is a seriously melodic gaze-punk ripper. Lots of driving tom work and excellent call and response back-ups. It's super catchy without being overly bubblegum had has enough grit to keep it from seeming too polished. The rest of the album is excellent too, but this one is my favorite so far. Based on the nature of these songs, it seems like they'd be awesome live too.
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The Cure - "One Hundred Years" from Pornography
It took over 20 years for The Cure to put out a bad record, which is incredibly impressive considering most bands can't even put out 3 good records without screwing something up. While I love all of their classic material, I find most of my interest in the band lies within their early post-punk catalog and their extremely dark songs. Pornography is the apex of their brooding material and is the essence of what people would poke fun at when discussing the bands sad guy image and fan base. The album's opening line, "It doesn't matter if we all die," sets the bleak pace that continues through out the 10 songs on the record. Though it's not all slow and sad. This song, despite having dark lyrics, is upbeat enough to grab the weirdo next to you in a dark club and hit the floor. This is essential Cure and an absolute stark banger to start the weekend.
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